Noctisardor Bypass these waterslides

Once the weather cleared and the sky brightened, Druid considered slipping outside to fetch Heda (@Widow) something to eat. Yet she was reluctant to leave her sister’s side. She did slink out of their shelter, staying within sight of it as she stretched her stiff muscles and then sent up a low howl for @Glaukos. It was a simple summons, though she tacked on a request for meat if he had any handy.

Her two-toned eyes turned back toward the overhang, hoping the call hadn’t disturbed Heda’s rest. She slunk back toward it and took a seat just outside. She didn’t want her sister to feel alone, even for an instant. Druid kept a patient vigil, mind wandering through all the things Heda had wept into her ear the night before.

the night before had felt surreal. her mouth tasted of tears and dirt, but she woke more easily than she had for a while, albeit stiffly.
rolling her shoulders, heda sighed, then wondered who else her sister was calling. if druid had mentioned someone, she didn't recall.
self-consciously she inched out to sit alongside druid, not realizing how much she had missed their contact. "morning." her tired eyes reached toward the sunspire. "i should get back before too long. the girls will be worried."

He had found and run down a possum which now hung from his teeth, with the intent to eat it and seek something else for Druid, when she called for him.

Glaukos did not hesitate as he changed direction and sought her out. He arrived promptly and presented the possum with its broken neck to Druid, rumbling a low sound of welcome, which stopped as he noticed another woman present.

The man looked between the two of them with a question in his expression, and stepped back to give them both space, reclining to sit and clean the creature he had hunted.

Yes, of course, Druid murmured when Heda stirred. Will you bring them here?

Before she could reply, Glaukos arrived. She smiled softly at the man when he passed her a fresh kill, returning his rumbled greeting. She gave him a moment to ascertain the situation for himself before answering the question in his eyes.

Glaukos, this is my sister, Heda. I took her in last night. She’s been through, Druid said, looking over and catching her eye, a lot. She pawed the opossum closer to her. I’ve let her know she and her children are welcome to stay here with us, if she wishes.

But would she? And what would Glaukos think? He had always supported Druid so loyally, could that extend to Heda and her girls now too? It would be more mouths to feed but it would also grow Rivenwood before their own pups came.

"ava isn't well enough to travel yet," heda answered softly, but her words trailed off when a large man joined she and her sister.
averting her eyes, the young widow tried to fight both the hunger in her belly and the instinctual response of her skin to the presence of a male. glaukos. were they a thing? too focused on the day to day, heda had noticed nothing different about druid and so did not suspect her sister was pregnant. "i can hunt," she said softly, flicking her gaze as high as the man's cheekbone.

This was the one Druid had wished for.

Glaukos looked upon Heda now and studied her, his expression unreadable, and when he had seen enough he dropped his gaze to the earth, and found Druid again. The sister said she could hunt, but Glaukos grunted - I will find more.

He seemed destined to guard and feed the wayward, and did not mind the work.

If either were awaiting acceptance from Glaukos over this change in their number, there was little response besides the shouldering of more responsibility, which was an invisible mantle he was glad to work beneath.

Rest for now. He murmured, already turning to go and to hunt again.

Thank you, Glaukos, Druid said, meaning every word as she shot him a grateful look.

She then turned to her sister, one soft black paw finding a pale one and gently squeezing it as she said, You can bring her here when she’s ready, if you want. Rivenwood is as much your birthright as mine. You will always have a home here.

She wished she could offer to accompany her sister to Ava’s sickbed but she could not leave Glaukos alone to defend Rivenwood. Perhaps it had always been hers, in a way, yet the other wolves of the wilderness might test that claim. Druid needed to be here to defend it.

I want you to get back to your little girl, she continued after a breath, but I worry too. She gestured, indicating the scent which shrouded Heda. Glaukos and I could protect you until it’s past.

If her sister wanted, she could even ask Glaukos to meet her needs. Druid wouldn’t mind that. But considering everything Heda had told her the night before, it felt uncouth to suggest it at present.

He took care of me during mine. I think he will be a good father. He could help us look after your girls. And I would love for you to be here to help me raise my own children.

glaukos surprised heda, neither confirming nor denying her offer before he moved off with a rolling gait which brought her to mind of a bear. the sisters were left alone, and heda carefully considered it. the way druid had accepted her back without question did a great deal to soothe her, but — anselm.
there was still the matter of that.
finally, dawning comprehension. "he took — you're...?" and her heart began to race, both in unsurety, then in excitement to be an aunt. "you and glaukos are married?" because she could think of no other way.

No, Druid answered with a patient smile, we’re… well, ‘just friends’ doesn’t seem quite right. We’re not really romantically involved but we do plan to raise our children together.

There were so many things she was tempted to say after that, though Druid only pondered them as she awaited Heda’s reaction. In the meantime, she also quietly nudged the dead opossum nearer, coaxing the towheaded woman to eat.

not married. heda finally registered what had been brought and started to pull at it in tiny fitful pieces. 
the thought of anselm grew in her mind, expanding more and more until her appetite, burgeoning though it was, died again. druid offered glaukos' protection, but survival's clarion call told heda that the man could perhaps protect the young she might already carry, if he —
he took care of me during mine. 
"we lived here for a while, actually, just a short time. dinah and ava and the man john i told you about." she still didn't know john, still hadn't been able to muster the brainpower for a proper conversation. "we were going to leave because i — we weren't successful at hunting. not enough. and then ava — well. you know the rest."
anselm anselm anselm —
"i'm not afraid of being out alone. i —" her mouth worked and for a moment her vision blurred, and then heda looked up. "if i wanted to have children myself, would you ... would it be acceptable?"
druid's answer would determine quite a lot. heda returned to picking at the meal, starved and ravenous for it, but with stomach pinched so tight by anxiety she could hardly taste the bits she did eat.

She was glad the bypass had sheltered Heda and her daughters, if only for a time. It could do so again, given their numbers. Druid didn’t want to press her sister any more than she wanted to press Glaukos, simply hoping they would choose Rivenwood for themselves.

Yes, of course, Druid said easily, frowning sympathetically at the fraught look in Heda’s eye. I wasn’t going to mention it, since you lost Caracal not so long ago. But if you were to seek Glaukos’s company in that respect, I wouldn’t mind. We can all look after one another and the resulting offspring. They’ll make Rivenwood strong again.

it wasn't what she wanted. it certainly wasn't what heda had ever envisioned. but then again, had she foretold how the rest of her life had turned out? a contemplative look crossed her face, followed by one of resolution. "i'm really ready for this to — stop," she said in weak allusion to the craving of her body.
this way, no sullen man-children from the sunspire would feel so put upon, so guilty. glaukos was hardly someone she knew but that didn't matter; he would take care of any babes started in her and druid would too.
feeling somewhat better, she began to eat in earnest now, finally answering her hunger as the future dawned with more assurance.

It’s rather obnoxious, isn’t it? Druid concurred with a huff of dry laughter, lapsing into pleased silence as Heda fed.

Hopefully her sister would consider everything she’d said. Meanwhile, she sidled closer to nibble at a burdock she spotted in the other woman’s coat. This quickly progressed into a more intensive grooming session. She couldn’t take away Heda’s pain but hopefully this small gesture, combined with the others, would raise the downtrodden woman’s spirits.

it did; her eyes closed and before long she was leaning against druid, trying to reacquaint herself with what it meant to be touched and loved and protected.
it would take some time; she was suddenly frustrated by the dewing of teardrops on her lashes once more.
"he doesn't say much, does he?" heda commented with no malice. "i know i've done enough talking for a lifetime. maybe here i can really shut up and —" rest.

No, she agreed, smiling between passes of her tongue, neither one of us do, really. I prefer to listen. Would you tell me more about your girls?

Druid resumed grooming Heda’s coat, black ears pricked attentively. She knew that Ava and Dinah were their names, that they were two of many more children. As her tongue swept from dingy white to reddish brown, she tried to picture them, though hopefully she would get to set eyes upon them in the none too distant future.

"ava doesn't talk. but she's very expressive. such a sweet face. and dinah, well. she's only a little older. i think of her as so much more. she looks like her father." an intake of breath; "i thank god every day that i can see her in him." and; "ana. she was also beautiful, but — always aloof. always — i wasn't able to warm her."
for a while, heda stopped talking, wanting only to sleep again.

Heda surprised her by talking not only of the two still with her, but another. That of course made Druid want to ask after her boys too. She was curious about the life her sister had led before they’d both arrived back here at Rivenwood, as if guided by fate.

It sounds as though Ava will fit right in with Glaukos and me, Druid said gently, and I can’t wait to meet Dinah, find out what Caracal was like.

It occurred to her that she should ask more about the wolves looking after the girls in Heda’s absence. She hadn’t provided much detail on that front. Perhaps there was a reason for that, though Druid wondered if they might not also accompany her back to the bypass. Rivenwood could become a pack overnight.

Sensing Heda’s exhaustion, she stowed that thought for later and said, Why don’t you rest? I’m going to get you some fresh fish. I’ve always thought of it as a super food.

Her lips pulled into a smile as she nuzzled Heda, then gently pushed her in the direction of the overhang. Whether she only stayed another few hours or a few days, Druid would continue to ply her with all the meat and pampering her knackered sister could tolerate.

<3

she was grateful, more than she could say, and heda settled beneath the overhang more comfortably this time. "i will tell you about caracal, druid. just — i will."
she needed to talk about him, but only when she could do him justice. that was what he deserved after everything else he hadn't gotten from her.
for now she slept the dreamless black sleep of the exhausted, thankful that not a single vision plagued her this time.